English Explanatory Dictionary

hereditary

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj

Passed on as an inheritance, by last will or intestate.
Of a title, honor or right: legally granted to somebody's descendant after that person's death.
Of a person: holding a legally hereditary title or rank.
Of a disease or trait: passed from a parent to offspring in the genes.
Of a ring: such that all submodules of projective modules over the ring are also projective.
Of a property of graphs: such that if G has the property, so must every induced subgraph of G.

noun

A hereditary ruler; a hereditary peer in the House of Lords.

Pronunciation

/həˈɹɛdɪt(ə)ɹi/ /həˈɹɛdɪˌtɛɹi/ en-us-hereditary.ogg /ˈhɛrəɖɪʈ(ɐ)ri/

Word forms

hereditary more hereditary most hereditary hereditaries

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English hereditarie, from Latin hērēditārius, from hērēditās (“inheritance”), from hērēs (“heir”).

Synonyms

inhereditary

Antonyms

nonhereditary

Related words

heir congenital

Derived words

Albright's hereditary osteodystrophy hereditarian hereditarily hereditariness hereditary disease hereditary elliptocytosis hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia hereditary mechanics hereditary peer Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy nonhereditary semihereditary unhereditary

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